Everyone tells you how quickly the time will go. But exploding diapers and sleepless nights make it feel quite the opposite. Then one day, your child walks down the stairs wearing a cap and gown. Darn. They were right!

After we cleaned up the cake and streamers from the graduation open house last year, my husband, Greg, and I felt a dark cloud settle in. Our daughter Hope wanted to go to college. She even picked an affordable in-state school. But that reasonable price tag is like buying a new car – every year – for four years. We’d been saving since she was a little girl, but it wasn’t even close to being enough. We felt hopeless. Taking out a loan seemed inevitable. So we applied. Signed the paper. And there we were… even deeper in debt.

Nowhere to look but up.

So that’s what we did. We began searching for a better way. College was a wake-up call. And once we realized we could do it without going into debt, college was no longer a curse word!

So Far We’ve Learned. . .

• It’s not as scary as we thought. The unknown always is. Research and talking to other families is vital.
• A lot has changed since we went to college. The food, the living arrangements and the biggest one… the cost. Not only tuition, but also books. But there are many options for books. Don’t stop at the first one you find. There’s probably a better deal around the corner.
• Find as many scholarships as humanly possible. Make applying for them your child’s job.
• Speaking of jobs, there are tons on and around campus. If your child can work, that’ll help with some of the costs.

For our family, we’re finding it’s going to be possible to do something we never thought we could – cash flow college, meaning we’ll pay as we go from this point on. “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another…” Romans 13:8.

GREAT ARTICLES FROM DAVE RAMSEY ABOUT COLLEGE:

https://www.daveramsey.com/blog/5-ways-parents-cash-flow-college

https://www.daveramsey.com/blog/9-lies-college-student-loans

 Hope going to college actually made Greg and I want to go back to school, too! Something called Financial Peace University by financial guru Dave Ramsey. Would you be interested in attending if we hosted a class at the station? Please comment below: